The Washington Office of Insurance Commissioner Expands NIPR Applications to Surplus Lines Brokers

The Washington Office of Insurance Commissioner (OIC) announced the expansion of the online application process through the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) in the state.  The OIC now permits new insurance license applications and renewals for resident surplus lines brokers and non-resident surplus lines brokers. You can access the NIPR service directly here. The expansion also applies to full lines for resident producers. 

With this announcement, Washington becomes the final state to accept surplus lines applications and renewals through NIPR. Now a broker applying for a new or renewal surplus lines license in multiple states may do so simultaneously for any and all states. When enacted, section 523 of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA) of 2010 required all states to participate in a uniform national database for application and renewal of surplus lines broker licenses. NAPSLO is pleased all states are now participating in this national database, bringing our industry one step closer to the uniformity envisioned by the NRRA. 

Mid-Year Leadership Forum General Session to feature two inspiring speakers

If you’re attending the NAPSLO Mid-Year Leadership Forum, March 5-8 in Scottsdale, make plans now to hold time for the General Session on Friday, March 7. This year’s General Session will feature two speakers, both with messages you can apply in your business immediately.

Eric Siegel, Ph.D., is the president of Prediction Impact, Inc. and author of the acclaimed book, Predictive Analytics: The Power to Predict Who Will Click, Buy, Lie, or Die. Siegel is also Executive Editor of the Predictive Analytics Times, and the founder of Predictive Analytics World and Text Analytics World. Widely renowned as an expert in predictive analytics and data mining, he is also a former computer science professor at Columbia University, where he won the engineering school's award for teaching, including graduate-level courses in machine learning and intelligent systems - the academic terms for predictive analytics.

After Columbia, Dr. Siegel co-founded two software companies for customer profiling and data mining, and founded Prediction Impact in 2003, providing predictive analytics services and training to mid-tier through Fortune 100 companies.

Siegel will discuss Predictive Analytics and how it applies to our industry in his address at 9 a.m. on March 7. For more information about Dr. Siegel, visit his website.

After a brief NAPSLO Education and Career Development presentation, guests will be inspired by speaker Erik Weihenmayer at 10 a.m. Despite losing his vision at the age of 13, Erik Weihenmayer has become one of the most accomplished adventurers in the world. Re-defining what it means to be blind, he has opened the minds of people around the world. He is the only blind person who has reached the summit of Mount Everest and the tallest peak on each continent.

In his talk, “Leadership—Guess Who’s a Better Climber in the Dark?,”Weihenmayer describes the time he and his partner, a much better climber, were caught on a dangerous rock face at nightfall and without working headlamps. In spite of his fear, Weihenmayer knew this was his time to lead his friend down to safety. He believes the most important aspect of leadership is how we pass it on to others. “Leadership is contagious,” he says, “We pass it from body to body, from life to life, and we give all the people around us the courage to do great things.”  To learn more about Weihenmayer, visit  his website.

We look forward to seeing you in Scottsdale. 

NAPSLO Submits Testimony to House Committee on Financial Services

The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing tomorrow entitled, “The Federal Insurance Office’s Report on Modernizing Insurance Regulation.” NAPSLO was asked to submit written testimony for this hearing and we’re pleased to offer thoughts on the report. You can read NAPSLO’s complete submitted testimony here.

You can also watch the hearing live online at the Committee’s website under the Live Webcasts link. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. EST.